Tomorrow's Just a Day Away
by Wolfblade88
Summary: It's the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. For Percy, it's the longest day of his life. Let's see if he can turn his day around in this Groundhog Day inspired tale.


Tomorrow's Just a Day Away.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, it's the solstice and we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

I groaned, remembering that as a senior councilor, I had to help in setting up today's events. For anyone left in the dark, apparently the summer solstice is Zeus's birthday. So being a camp composed entirely of children of gods, or demigods for short, it's pretty much a national holiday for us. It's kind of like Fourth of July, except, instead of cook outs and fire works, you get the biggest capture the flag game of the year, an obstacle course that gives the labyrinth a run for its money, a cook out fit for gods, a dance, and fireworks.

"Seriously Percy, we don't have all day to lay in bed. So get a move on!" Anabeth walked through my doorway, dressed in her usual attire; shorts, an orange "Camp Half-blood" t-shirt, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. To say she was pretty was an understatement. I always thought she was pretty, but ever sense our escapade in Mt. St. Helens where I got shot out of the mountain, long story. I've begun to see her in a different light. "Hello Percy, wipe the drool from your face before I knock you back to sleep. I'm not playing around."

Groaning, I got out of bed and threw on a fresh pair of shorts and my favorite blue t-shirt. Today was going to be a long day.

SPLASH

I snapped my head to see a soaking wet Annabeth standing in my doorway. Red with rage, she looked to my roof. "Stolls! You're so lucky I don't have any time for your shit, but next time I see you, you're dead!"

Before she could grab her knife to throw at them, I pulled her into a hug. "Percy, what in Hades are you-"

"Look, all dry." I said, letting her go. To her surprise and relief, she found herself as dry as she was before walking outside.

"And that's why you're my best friend. Thanks," she said walking towards the pavilion. Tailing close behind, I mentally thanked the Stolls for an excuse to hug Annabeth.

"Hey Annabeth!" I look to the side and see Wade Colson running down the hill. I felt my blood pressure spike the closer he got. It's not that I hate the guy, but I get really annoyed with his attempts to flirt with Annabeth. I know what your thinking. "What? Percy is the jealous type?" To which I respond, shut up! I'm only human. He arrived a month ago and has tried every chance he got to get closer to Annabeth.

"Annabeth, my Greek mythology quiz is right after breakfast and if I fail it, Chiron will have me on dish duty for a week. What did Theseus forget to do when returning home?"

"He forgot to fly black sails to tell his father that he was alive, driving him to suicide." Said Annabeth, without a moment of pause.

"Cleaver as she is beautiful. Thanks Annabeth, tutor me next week?" asked Wade, flashing her an annoying grin.

"Umm, sure Wade." I saw a blush creep up on Annabeth's cheeks, annoying me even more.

"Come on Annabeth, we have a busy day, isn't that what you said?"

"Uuh, right, I'll see you later Wade." she trailed off, continuing to the pavilion.

Breakfast came and went without event. Everyone gathered into the pavilion and sacrificed a portion to a god of their choice. I wasn't feeling that hungry this morning so I was fine giving my dad an extra pancake. As breakfast wound down, Chiron trotted up to the front of the pavilion and began clopping his front hoof for attention.

"Heroes! Today, as you know, is Zeus's Birthday. As such, today is a day of celebration. So to make things interesting the winning team in Capture the Flag today will be first in line for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire week!" At that announcement, the pavilion exploded in cheers. Since there are so many campers these days, the last cabin in line usually has an hour wait time. "Settle down campers!" Chiron called, stomping his hoof. "Now, because the stakes are so high today, I think it's only fair that the Athena cabin and Ares cabin are on different teams. We don't need a repeat of last week. Now, as for teams…On the Red Team, we have the Ares cabin, the Aphrodite cabin, the Apollo cabin, and the Dionysus cabin. On the Blue Team we have the Athena cabin, the Hermes cabin, the Demeter cabin, the Poseidon cabin, and the Hephaestus cabin. It is ten o'clock, so teams have until noon to strategize before the game begins. Good luck and have fun!"

After hours of planning, Annabeth gathered everyone together to explain her strategy. "Alright the flag will be kept at Zeus's fist. Hermes cabin, I want you guys to booby trap the hell out of that place ok. I don't want them to even see the flag."

"You got it!" Connor and Travis said in unison before high fiving.

"Demeter cabin, I want you and Percy to take the left vanguard. It's by the river so you have plant of water and foliage to do some damage." I gave her a nod of my head. Annabeth always knew how to play defense.

"Hephaestus cabin, I want you on right vanguard. Ares cabin hasn't pushed right in three games, so I want my best defenders in case they pull a fast one on us. As for Athena cabin, you're all pushing middle with me. Remember to pack your lightest armor set. Blitzkrieg won't work if you lag behind. Now that we know the plan, battle formations everyone!"

We all gave a hearty cheer and broke off to our positions. Once settled, the woods were deathly silent as we waited for the signal. Suddenly, a single flair was shot into the sky, indicating the beginning of the game. The rest of the Demeter cabin began praying on their knees while vines and other flora began growing around us. As for myself, I moved to the back of the crowd until I was knee deep in the river. It wasn't as good as the ocean, but I could feel the water's power flowing through me. No amount of Adderall could compare to the level of focus I was feeling now.

We stood in silence, listening to the sound of war in the distance, everyone poised for an oncoming attack. Being children of the harvest goddess, many of the Demeter cabin are born with the ability to sense any changes in soil, from its acidity to its density. In other words, they can tell when someone is walking towards us within 100 meters. I stood ready, waiting for the call of intruders. In the water, all my senses are in overdrive, that's when I heard it, a faint whizzing in the air. Except I knew it wasn't a bug. "Arrows! Everyone ready your shields!" In unison, the entire group raised their shields. Not two seconds later, hundreds of arrows showered upon us. The rain lasted only a couple seconds before it stopped. Then a look of worry came across several campers' faces.

"Enemies within 100 meters!" cried Katie Gardner.

Suddenly, every arrow around us exploded, covering the entire area with smoke. The smoke was so thick; I could nearly make out Katie's silhouette, five feet away from me. That's when they rushed us. Leading the charge was Wade and the rest of the Dionysus cabin. In his right hand, a celestial bronze spear, in his left hand though was his shield; A gift from his father that earned him the nickname Captain America. Like Captain America's shield, Wade's absorbs any force applied to his shield and rebounds it right back at the attacker. In his free time, I've seen Wade flick cards at his shield and catch them off the rebound. After seeing that, I'd bet hitting that shield with all my might would knock my sword right out of my hand, and into the next state.

I uncapped Riptide and charged into battle, bringing some water along with. The battle was intense. All around me, I here'd the ring of swords clashing. I saw a couple people charge Wade, but he knocked them away with ease. I sent a few blast of water his way, but his shield sent them right back at me. When I finally got close to him, he tried to shoulder charge me with his shield. I sidestepped his attack only to parry his spear in the nick of time. With his guard open, I went for a leg sweep and toppled him. Unfortunately, he landed on his shield and used the force to flip right back into battle position. I gripped Riptide even harder and charged him. He charged towards me as well. Right before we met, I jumped and planted both feet on his shield. Thanks to its rebounding ability, it went from being the world's best shield to the world's best springboard. After my dismount, I did a flip in the air and landed in the river. Feeling power rush through me, I used all my energy into making a giant wave and completely washed the battlefield away. When I got back to the riverbank I herd the horn sound, ending the game.

"Annabeth, what happened to you?" Annabeth staggered up to me looking bruised and battered with her arms completely clawed up.

"The Aphrodite cabin happened. They used their charm speak on a pack of hellhounds in the woods to attack us. With our light armor, we were held back as what looked like the Ares cabin and half of the Apollo cabin steamrolled us all the way to the flag."

"What about the traps the Hermes cabin had, a mouse couldn't have gotten through that mine field?!"

"The Ares cabin brought squirt guns and hosed the path down with water and Clarisse used "lamer" to fry the whole place. Poor James was in a bush to oversee the traps. He's fine but he looks like Dr. Frankenstein with that hair." She giggled a little before turning serious again. "I should have planned for this, this is all my fault."

"Hey now, this is not your fault. How could you plan for a squirt gun powered EMP blast? You're the smartest person I know and I know that you can do nothing but improve from this." I smiled at her, patting her shoulder.

"Wow Perce, when did you get so good at pick me ups?" grinned Annabeth nudging my side.

"What can I say, I'm a stand up guy. Speaking of pick me ups, here." I said, handing her a pouch of ambrosia squares. "You wont be much good to anyone feeling like a hellhounds chew toy." As Annabeth chewed on the square, I saw the cuts and bruises on her body fade from existence until she looked good as new. "I never asked, but what is it you taste when you eat ambrosia? I always tasted my moms blue cookies."

Annabeth put a finger to her chin in a thinking manor before answering, "Pie, before I ran away from home, my father use to make this fantastic apple pie. He only made it for special occasions such as Christmas or birthdays, and I suppose that's what made it so special. Now he makes it whenever I come home to visit."

"So is it safe to say that you and your dad are getting along well?" I asked nervously. I've known Annabeth for years, and even now, I still tred with caution when asking about her father.

"You know, yeah. It still gets a little awkward from time to time, but the last time I went home, I had a lot of fun. We went to a museum where he lectured me on the civil war section and I lectured him on the arcutecture. We both realized that our interest bore each other to tears so we laughed it off and got chipotle. It was the most fun I ever had with him."

"I'm glad you and your dad are finally coming around to each other."

"Me too, now if you'll excuse me, the obstacle course is in half an hour and while ambrosia removes the bite of a hell hound, it doesn't remove the slobber. I'm going to shower. Meet me at the start of the course at 1:20 ok?"

"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" We high fived and she jogged off towards her cabin.

"Hey Prissy, what's it like to lose again." Shouted Clarisse, making her way over to me.

"Hey Clarisse, I herd what you did with the water and your spear. A clever trick for sure, but don't think you can pull a fast one like that twice in a row alright." I grinned extending my arm for a fist bump.

"Ha, with a fool like you on their team, I could use the same strat again with similar results." She grinned connecting fists with me.

"You win this round, but if you and Chris think that you can beat Annabeth and I in the obstacle course race, then you've got another think coming."

"Bold talk for someone who's oh and one today with me. I'll see you around Jackson." Called Clarisse over the shoulder flashing me a thumbs up as she walked away.

"Boy she really mellowed out once Chris came back to camp." I laughed to myself before going to my cabin.

Nearly half an hour has passed and I decided that now was a good time to meat up with Annabeth at the obstacle course. I saw Annabeth with her back towards me looking in the distance. "Guess who." I grinned, covering her eyes with my hands.

"Why Drew, you voice has gotten so much deeper, are you feeling alright?" she deadpanned.

"Haha, very funny wise girl." I groaned, not taking my hands off her eyes.

"Seaweed Brain, I'm going to count to three and I want your hands off before that."

"And should I refuse?"

"Then I judo flip you over my shoulder in front of all of our friends," she laughed half seriously.

"Touchy, Touchy. But your face feels so warm. I suppose I could, but only because I'm in a good mood." I sighed mockingly, removing my hands.

"Yeah, that's the reason." Said Annabeth, rolling her eyes and playfully pushing me away.

"Heroes!" boomed Chiron's voice, silencing every one. "First, let me congratulate the Red team on their victory in capture the flag!" There were a few cheers from Red team members before Chiron stamped his hoof for attention. "Now, for the obstacle course. This is a two-person event in which you and your partner must work together to get to the end of the course in one piece. So I need all partners to stand beside each other so that they can enjoy the ties of friendship!" laughed Chiron. There were some confused murmurs in the crowd before Chiron spoke again. "Friendship, being this new material I had the Hephaestus cabin make for this occasion. This cloth has fine wires of celestial bronze infused within it, increasing it's strength and making it immune to any tampering, I'm looking at you Connor and Travis!"

There were some laughs in the crowd at that comment until Wade Colson spoke up. "Uh, Chiron, what are the nymphs doing?" he asked, pointing down to the nymphs surrounding his and another camper's feet.

"Tying the bond. Didn't I tell you guys? This is a three legged race."

"Chiron you son of a bitch" I laughed silently to myself. I felt a nudge from my side. Annabeth must have heard me but she was shaking from a small giggle she had herself.

"Now that everyone is tied, when I shoot up the flair in my hand, that is the signal that the race has begun. So good luck everyone and have fun." He lifted his arm to fire but lowered it to everyone's disappointment. "One more thing, First place team gets a week long pass on all chores." The flair shot from his hand and we took off running.

"Dammit Percy, why do your legs have to be so long!" shouted Annabeth almost jumping to keep up with me.

"Sorry, let me just shrink real quick-DUCK!" I shouted pulling us both to the ground as a log swung towards us from above. We picked ourselves up and ran until we came to a storm of rotating training dummies, each one spinning in a different direction only to change in random moments. Fortunately, all their swords were wooden; unfortunately, they turned so fast that those wooden swords would still leave a nice sized bruise wherever it hit you.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch isn't it?" asked Annabeth reading my mind.

"Yep." And on that note, we rushed the storm. We could get a fair distance until I felt a hard smack to my ribs and shoulders. Annabeth wasn't fairing much better. One of the dummies got a low hit on her and knocked her off of her feet. After taking a few more whacks while helping her up, we got to the end of the dummies and onto a bridge. The only problem was that wall of the bridge had pistons ejecting from the side.

"I think I've got the timing down, just fallow my lead and be ready to duck." Annabeth said, moving towards the bridge. We moved as one, running jumping and ducking in sync until the very end. "Jump!" cried Annabeth. I was too slow and took a push in the legs. We were pushed off the bridge. I grabbed the edge of the bridge just in time to stop our fall. "Percy, don't you dare let go!" cried Annabeth, dangling upside down by her ankle.

"Annabeth, try to stay as straight at you can, I'm going to try and swing you to the ledge so you can catch it." She gave me a crazed look but nodded and straightened out. I swayed back in forth enough to gather momentum before really pushing.

"One more swing and I'll-I've got it!" shouted Annabeth grabbing the ledge. Quickly we pulled ourselves up and got off the bridge. Percy, I see the finish line!" pointed Annabeth. She was right; the finish line was only 20 yards away. However, there was a row of alternating black and white tiles between us.

"Let go for broke!" We took of as fast as we could and tried to hit as few tiles as possible. I have been to hell and I know for a fact that there's a place for the designer of this obstacle course. Some tiles did nothing; others launched you back, pulled the shoes off of your feet from the glue, and exploded. One of them launched a wave of creamed corn at us. "Whose Idea was the corn?!"

We crossed the finish line half dead and reeking of corn. "Percy, Annabeth, nice work! We'll record your time and give rankings after the next group has gone. For now, I recommend you guys get cleaned up." Cheered Chiron before trotting away.

"Nice work Seaweed Brain, and nice hair." I took her cellphone and used the camera to check myself out. The corn was drying up, leaving my hair looking extra greasy and slicked back like a punk from the 1950's.

"You're one to talk, you look like Harley Quinn after a bad one night stand!" One of the tiles Annabeth had stepped on had completely blasted her in flour and tomato sauce.

"You wish you could get a one night stand with me." Laughed Annabeth, giving me a flirtatious smirk.

"Only if you're offering miss Chase," I flirted back, a bit surprised by my confidence.

"Not even in your dreams Perce. " She laughed, checking my hip with her own. "Ugh, now I have to take my third shower today, great."

"I don't know Wise Girl, that's a good look for you. You should keep it."

"And why's that Kelp head, do I look good to you? " she said sticking her tongue out at me.

"Annabeth, you look delicious." I laughed. "

We smiled at each other in a comfortable silence before Chiron rode to the stage to read the time. "Heroes! The times are in, in third place, we have Wade Colson and John Osborn with 10:56. In second place, we have Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase with 10:24. Finally, First Place goes to Clarisse Larue and Chris Rodriguez with 10:22. That concludes today's events until six tonight when dinner begins. Until then, enjoy your free time and don't do anything you wouldn't do on a regular day. Extended free period doesn't mean extended liberties.

"Hey Annabeth, congrats on beating me in the race." Said Wade, making his way over to us.

"Oh boy here we go." I thought to myself as he approached.

"Thanks Wade, but it wasn't just me, Percy was just as much a help as I was."

"Percy sure is a lucky man to have some one as smart and beautiful as you watching his back." Said Wade putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Yes he sure -You ok Percy?" Asked Annabeth

"Solid, why do you ask?" I said, forcing a smile.

"You're all red and you're shaking like a leaf." She said, leaving Wade's arm to put a hand to my head. "You're really warm too."

"I'm fine, just tired from the obstacle course. Now if you'll excuse me, the 50's called and they want my hair back. I'll catch up with you later ok?" I said, giving Annabeth a smile. "Wade, good game." I said, giving his hand an unnecessarily firms squeeze before making my way to my cabin.

One shower and a change of clothes later, I found myself walking outside beside the infirmary. "Hey Perce, can you come here for a minute." Called Will Solace from the tent.

"Hey Will, What's up?" I said, moving the tent flap out of the way.

"You still have ambrosia with you?" he asked, extending his hand. I dug around my pocket until I fished out the zip lock bag that I always have with me. "Always some ambrosia when you're around. Good man." I watched as Will walked over to a girl about my age with two legs in a cast. "Here Emily, This will help." I watched as the brunet named Emily took the square Will handed her and ate it.

"What happened? I asked looking at her casts.

"I was on the rock wall trying to climb this morning and one of the safety harnesses broke. So 30 feet later, here I am." She sighed gesturing to her legs.

"How long until you're back on your feet?" I asked, looking at Will.

"If she keeps a steady diet of calcium and ambrosia, she'll be good as new in a week."

"But I'm going to miss the dance tonight aren't I?" chimed Emily with a heartbroken look on her face.

"Afraid so, sorry Em. If it's any consolation, I'm not attending either." Will patted her shoulder, trying to cheer her up.

"What's the matter Will, you got two left feet or what?" I asked surprised.

"No, The only person I'm interested in dancing with is away from camp for now and I doubt they'll be back for the dance." He said, a forlorn look in his eyes.

"Ooooh Will has a crush, tell me man, what's this person like. I've seen how picky you can be. So what do they have that catches your eye?" I teased, watching the color rise to his cheeks.

"Well Mr. Nosey, if you must know, this person has dark brown, almost black hair, and lovely olive skin. The issue is, they're so mysterious that I know so little, I wouldn't even know how to approach this person." He sighed, as he moved to the basin to wash his hands.

"Oh come on Will, you're an amazing guy and if this person can't see that, than they're not worth your time. Besides, being the 'cutes doctor in camp' according to the Aphrodite cabin can surely net you a couple consolation prizes if this special someone doesn't work out." I said, offering a fist bump.

"You're probably right." Said Will, connecting fists. "Speaking of special someone's, I noticed you get pretty red in the face whenever Wade strikes up a conversation with Annabeth. Should I write up a prescription for blood pressure pills or do you have it covered?"

"And you call me Mr. Nosey." I said, fighting the blush on my face. "Besides, Annabeth isn't interested in me that way. She's so refined and intelligent. She deserves better then some guy who runs in guns blazing, and making plans up on the fly."

"If Annabeth wanted refined, she'd date an oil tycoon. Besides, you two have history that no other guy could possibly compete with. You two have been tied at the hip since you first came here. That and the shameless flirting between you two is an obvious indicator that there's a little more then platonic feelings between you two."

"Thanks Will, anyway, I'm off to the camp store to get a snack, you want anything?" I offered Walking out the tent flap.

"No thanks, I'm good." I turned and moved the tent flap to leave. "Oh and Percy." I turned back to look at him. "If the impossible happens and things don't work out between you and Annabeth, I know for a fact that there are plenty of consolation prizes in the Aphrodite cabin for you." He laughed as he turned to reorganize his pill shelf.

"Hey Percy!" Cried Aaron Ramirez, rushing over to me. Aaron was a son of Apollo who could only be described as a pudgy Mexican Elvis complete with the greased flow and musical talent.

"Aaron my man, what's up?

"Look, I know this is super short notice, but what are the odds that I can get you to sing one, key word, one song with us tonight."

To say he surprised me was an understatement. "Aaron, why would you want to subject the audience to such torture? I'd get all of us booed off the stage."

"I've herd you sing at the campfire tones of times, you honestly think I wouldn't notice who is and isn't singing on pitch. You can sing dude so don't bother trying to deny it." He grinned, crossing his arms.

"Look man, I'm so unprepared, maybe another time with more preparation, but not tonight. Sorry."

"Please, I'm trying to impress this girl and I kind of made a bet." He begged, lowering his voice and looking side to side.

"What bet?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Well…. long story short, our last conversation was me bragging about my band and if I asked, any one would sing with me, and well she said she wasn't into exaggerators. So I said, pick any person in camp and if I could get them on stage with me tonight, that she would go on a date with me. She said your name and I'm begging you man. I need your help."

I felt bad for the guy, Aaron has been known to talk himself into trouble, but I'd hate to see the guy crash and burn trying to get a date. "I'm sorry Aaron. I really am, but I'm just not prepared. Maybe another night."

"It's fine, I knew it was a long shot anyway." He sighed, walking towards the Apollo cabin.

Time passed as usual and before I knew it, dinnertime came and went, leaving every one move towards the amphitheater, anxious for the big dance.

"Heroes!" called Chiron from the stage. "Before the dance begins, I have a few final announcements to make. First, The forecast calls for intense heat tomorrow so be sure to have water and sunscreen on you at all times and that fireworks are scheduled for ten o'clock tonight. Now that that is out of the way, lets give a round of applause to tonight's entertainment: The Sound of muses!" The crowd cheered as the stage rose up revealing Aaron and the rest of his band, miked up and ready to preform. They started off with a killer cover of Jesse's Girl and carried on from there. Annabeth and I danced to every song we could until Wade stole Annabeth for a few dances.

Chiron finally took the stage after the last song, "Heroes! Fireworks begin in 15 minutes, so you should have plenty of time to gather your effects and find a spot at the lakeshore. So chop-chop and Happy Solstice!"

"Happy Solstice!" everyone cried before making a mad dash to his or her cabins. I dashed to my cabin and grabbed two blankets before running to the lake. I know what you're thinking, two blankets? Isn't that excessive? My answer is, ask any New Yorker, and they'll tell you to take one to sit on and one to wear poncho style. In my mad dash, I collided with another body. "I'm sorry I- Hey Annabeth." I said, helping my best friend up from the ground.

"Hey Percy, where are you sitting? I might join you." She said, grabbing her blanket of the ground and walking in my direction. We walked all the way to the shoreline before turning into the woods.

"And here we are," I said, gesturing to the cliff that overlooked the lake

There was a look of awe on her face before facing me again. "You win for coolest spot. I can see everything here!" We sat in silence until the fireworks lit up the sky in their depictions of mythology before us.

"I've always wondered how they got such pretty colors from fireworks." I said, turning to face her.

"Redox Reactions. A mixture of metal oxides that are heated to such high temperatures to the point that the electrons jump out of their current orbit to a lower energy orbit giving off the light at a certain wavelengths" She turned to me, a smart-ass smirk on her face.

"Ok smarty pants, what number am I thinking of then." I grinned, amazed at her. "You're truly amazing you know that right?"

She looked at me with a surprised look on her face. "What do you mean."?

"I mean you're incredible. You know the answer to every question I've ever asked you, your wit is as sharp as your knife, and you're the only person I know who can pull of a suit of armor." I smiled at her, hoping she doesn't see me blush.

"I can pull off a suit of armor? Why Percy, have you been checking me out?" she said in mock astonishment. "The nerve of you. But you're very sweet so I forgive you. To sweet for your own good. You're always there for every one and I feel so special that you dedicate most of your time to me."

"What can I say, you're a special person to me." We sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the show. The show ended and I offered to walk her back to her cabin.

"First you shower me in complements, then offer to walk me to my door. Quite the gentlemen we are tonight." Mused Annabeth, walking in sync with my step.

"Momma didn't raise no bitch, but she did raise a gentleman." I grinned, earning a laugh from Annabeth. "Here we are, m'lady." I gestured towards the door.

"Thanks again for sitting with me, I had a wonderful time in you company Seaweed Brain." She said, giving me a side hug.

"The pleasure was all mine." We locked eyes for a moment and I was really tempted to kiss her, but something told me that now was not the right time. Annabeth walked to her steps with a face of happiness but also the faintest signs of disappointment.

"Good night Percy, see you tomorrow." She said, waving goodnight and walking through the cabin threshold.

I walked back to my cabin questioning why I didn't kiss her but also about what to do tomorrow. Forecast called for high nineties. I can go swimming with Annabeth. I fell asleep to the thought of Annabeth in a bikini. What, I'm fifteen. Bite me.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, it's the solstice and we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

"What is she talking about? The solstice was yesterday." I thought to myself sitting up in my bed.

"Seriously Percy, we don't have all day to lay in bed. So get a move on!" Annabeth walked through my doorway, dressed in the same clothes as yesterday morning. "Hello Percy, wipe the drool from your face before I knock you back to sleep. I'm not playing around."

"I herd you and I'm asking what in Hades are you talking about, the solstice was yesterday."

She gave me a look like I was crazy. "Did you hit your head last night or is it really just that full of kelp."

I got out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and my favorite blue shirt, while wondering why there are no creamed corn stains on it. Suddenly, I herd a splash behind me. I turned to se a soaking wet Annabeth looking ready to kill someone.

"Stolls! You're so lucky I don't have any time for your shit, but next time I see you, you're dead!"

Before she could grab her knife to throw at them, I pulled her into a hug. "Percy, what in Hades are you-"

"Poseidon Powers, no more water, see?"

"And that's why you're my best friend. Thanks," she said walking towards the pavilion.

"Was it all a dream?" I asked myself, shutting my cabin door.

"Hey Annabeth!" I turned to see Wade running over the hill again. Today was full of déjà vu moments.

"Annabeth, my Greek mythology quiz is right after breakfast and if I fail it, Chiron will have me on dish duty for a week. What did Theseus forget to do when returning home?"

"He forgot to fly black sails to tell his father that he was alive, driving him to suicide." Said Annabeth, without a moment of pause.

"Cleaver as she is beautiful. Thanks Annabeth, tutor me next week?" asked Wade, flashing her another one of his annoying grin.

"Umm, sure Wade." I saw a blush creep up on Annabeth's cheeks.

"Come on Annabeth, we have a busy day, isn't that what you said?"

"Uuh, right, I'll see you later Wade." she trailed off, continuing to the pavilion.

I sat down at my table thinking about the events that transpired this morning. Today is the solstice, but wasn't yesterday the solstice? And why wasn't I as surprised to see water dumped on Annabeth? Am I going crazy or is today just one of my off days? I decided that my head is full of kelp and nothing is wrong. As breakfast wound down, Chiron trotted up to the front of the pavilion and began clopping his front hoof for attention.

"Heroes! Today, as you know is Zeus's Birthday. As such, today is a day of celebration. So to make things interesting the winning team in Capture the Flag today will be first in line for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire week!" At that announcement, the pavilion exploded in cheers. "Settle down campers!" Chiron called, stomping his hoof. "Now, because the stakes are so high today, I think it's only fair that the Athena cabin and Ares cabin are on different teams. We don't need a repeat of last week. Now, as for teams…On the Red Team, we have the Ares cabin, the Aphrodite cabin, the Apollo cabin, and the Dionysus cabin. On the Blue Team we have the Athena cabin, the Hermes cabin, the Demeter cabin, the Poseidon cabin, and the Hephaestus cabin. It is ten o'clock, so teams have until noon to strategize before the game begins. Good luck and have fun!"

After hours of planning, Annabeth gathered everyone together to explain her strategy. "Alright the flag will be kept at Zeus's fist. Hermes cabin, I want you guys to booby trap the hell out of that place ok. I don't want them to even see the flag."

"You got it!" Connor and Travis said in unison before high giving.

"Demeter cabin, I want you and Percy to take the left vanguard. It's by the river so you have plant of water and foliage to do some damage." I gave her a nod of my head and thought back to what I figure was just a strange dream from last night. Surely my dreams events were just that. Dreams.

"Hephaestus cabin, I want you on right vanguard. Ares cabin hasn't pushed right in three games, so I want my best defenders in case they pull a fast one on us. As for Athena cabin, you're all pushing middle with me. Remember to pack your lightest armor set. Blitzkrieg won't work if you lag behind. Now that we know the plan, battle formations everyone!"

We all gave a hearty cheer and broke off to our positions. Once settled, the woods were deathly silent as we waited for the signal. Suddenly, a single flair was shot into the sky, indicating the beginning of the game. The rest of the Demeter cabin began praying on their knees while vines and other flora began growing around us. As for myself, I moved to the back of the crowd until I was knee deep in the river, enjoying the surge of power that flowed through me.

We stood in silence, listening to the sound of war in the distance, everyone poised for an oncoming attack. Suddenly, I herd what sounded like a swarm of bugs heading towards us. "Arrows! Everyone ready your shields!" In unison, the entire group raised their shields. Not two seconds later, hundreds of arrows showered upon us. The rain lasted only a couple seconds before it stopped. Suddenly, every arrow around us exploded, covering the entire area with smoke.

Soon, Wade and his entourage charged us from the smoke, brandishing their weapons.

I uncapped Riptide and charged into battle, bringing some water along with. The battle was intense, all around me; I here'd the ring of swords clashing. I saw a couple people charge Wade, but he knocked them away with ease. I sent a few blast of water his way, but his shield sent them right back. When I finally got close to him, he tried to shoulder charge me with his shield. I sidestepped his attack only to parry his spear in the nick of time. With his guard open, I went for a leg sweep and toppled him. Unfortunately, he landed on his shield and used the force to flip right back into battle position. I gripped Riptide even harder and charged him. He charged towards me as well. Right before we met, I jumped and planted both feet on his shield, using it as a springboard to leap back into the river. Feeling power rush through me, I used all my energy into making a giant wave and completely washed the battlefield away. When I got back to the riverbank I herd the horn sound, ending the game.

"Annabeth, what happened?" I asked, walking out of the woods with her.

"The Aphrodite cabin happened. They used their charm speak on a pack of hell hounds in the woods to attack us, with our light armor, we were held back as what looked like the Ares cabin and half of the Apollo cabin steamrolled us all the way to the flag."

"What about the traps the Hermes cabin had, what happened to those?"

"The Ares cabin brought squirt guns and hosed the path down with water and Clarisse used "lamer" to fry the whole place. Poor James was in a bush to oversee the traps. He's fine but he looks like Dr. Frankenstein with that hair." She giggled a little before turning serious again. "I should have planned for this, this is all my fault."

"That's the same way they beat us in my dream" I thought to myself."Hey now, this is not your fault. How could you plan for a squirt gun powered EMP blast?" I said, trying to recall my dream. "You're the smartest person I know and I know that you can do nothing but improve from this." I smiled at her, patting her shoulder.

"Wow Perce, when did you get so good at pick me ups?" grinned Annabeth nudging my side jokingly.

"What can I say, I'm a stand up guy. Speaking of pick me ups, here." I said, handing her a pouch of ambrosia squares. "You wont be much good to anyone feeling like a hellhounds chew toy." As Annabeth chewed on the square, I saw the cuts and bruises on her body fade from existence until she looked good as new. "How's the pie."

Annabeth put a finger to her chin in a thinking manor before answering, "Its good, but how did you know it was pie?"

I paused for a moment. Do I tell her I dreamed it up and risk letting her know I dream about her? "You told me it was pie flavored like two years ago. Remember?" I lied.

"Oh, I must have forgotten." She blushed. "Anyway, I'll need you to excuse me. The obstacle course is in half an hour and while ambrosia removes the bite of a hell hound, it doesn't remove the slobber. I'm going to shower. Meet me at the start of the course at 1:20 ok?"

"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" We high fived and she jogged off towards her cabin.

"Hey Prissy, what's it like to lose again." Shouted Clarisse, making her way over to me.

"Hey Clarisse, I herd what you did with the water and your spear. A clever trick for sure, but don't think you can pull a fast one like that twice in a row alright." I grinned extending my arm for a fist bump.

"Ha, with a fool like you on their team, I could use the same strat again with similar results." She grinned connecting fists with me.

"You're probably right." I said, suddenly realizing how similar today has been to my dream last night. "But if you and Chris think that you can beat Annabeth and I in the obstacle course race, then you've got another think coming."

"Bold talk for someone who's oh and one today with me. I'll see you around Jackson." Called Clarisse over the shoulder flashing me a thumbs up as she walked away.

"Either I have a good imagination or the universe owes me for copyright infringement because today seems like a literal dream come true." I said to no one in particular as I made my way back to my cabin for a much needed nap.

I awoke from my nap just in time to make my way over to the obstacle course arena towards Annabeth. "How you doing miss chew toy?" I laughed.

"Funny, I was covered in Hellhound slobber and I still smelt better than you." Quipped Annabeth, smiling all the same.

"Heroes!" boomed Chiron's voice, silencing every one. "First, let me congratulate the Red team on their victory in capture the flag!" There were a few cheers from Red team members before Chiron stamped his hoof for attention. "Now, for the obstacle course. This is a two-person event in which you and your partner must work together to get to the end of the course in one piece. So I need all partners to stand beside each other so that they can enjoy the ties of friendship!" laughed Chiron. There were some confused murmurs in the crowd before Chiron spoke again. "Friendship, being this new material I had the Hephaestus cabin make for this occasion. This cloth has fine wires of celestial bronze infused within it, increasing it's strength and making it immune to any tampering, I'm looking at you Connor and Travis!"

There were some laughs in the crowd at that comment until Wade spoke up. "Uh, Chiron, what are the nymphs doing?" he asked, pointing down to the nymphs surrounding his and another camper's feet.

"Tying the bond. Didn't I tell you guys? This is a three legged race."

"Why am I not surprised?" I said silently to myself. I felt a nudge from my side. "Just don't slow us down with that seaweed brain of yours." Laughed Annabeth.

"Now that everyone is tied, when I shoot up the flair in my hand, that is the signal that the race has begun. So good luck everyone and have fun." He lifted his arm to fire but lowered it to everyone's disappointment. "One more thing, First place team gets a week long pass on all chores." The flair shot from his hand and we took off running.

"Dammit Percy, why do your legs have to be so long!" shouted Annabeth almost jumping to keep up with me.

"Sorry, let me just shrink real quick-DUCK!" I shouted pulling us both to the ground as a log swung towards us from above. We picked ourselves up and ran until we came to a storm of rotating training dummies.

"This is going to hurt like a bitch isn't it?" asked Annabeth reading my mind.

"Yep." And on that note, we rushed the crowd of dummies. After what felt like an eternity of whacks and beatings, we finally got out of the dummy maze, facing a bridge with pistons erupting from the side.

"I think I've got the timing down, just fallow my lead and be ready to duck." Annabeth said, moving towards the bridge. We managed to avoid every piston until the very end. "Jump!" cried Annabeth. I was too slow and took a push in the legs. We were pushed off the bridge. I grabbed the edge of the bridge just in time to stop our fall. "Percy, don't you dare let go!" cried Annabeth, dangling upside down by her ankle.

"Annabeth, try to stay as straight at you can, I'm going to try and swing you to the ledge so you can catch it." She gave me a crazed look but nodded and straightened out. I swayed back in forth enough to gather momentum before really pushing.

"One more swing and I'll-I've got it!" shouted Annabeth grabbing the ledge. Quickly we pulled ourselves up and got off the bridge. Percy, I see the finish line!" pointed Annabeth across a field of checkered tiles.

"Let go for broke!" I cried as we made a dead sprint through the tiles. Suffering from each one we hit.

We crossed the finish line half dead and covered in corn. "Percy, Annabeth, nice work! We'll record your time and give rankings after the next group has gone. For now, I recommend you guys get cleaned up." Cheered Chiron before trotting away.

"Nice job Percy, and nice hair." Said Annabeth, pointing to my slicked back hair from the corn. Seriously, who's idea was the corn.

"Laugh it up, at least I don't look like Harley Quinn and Chief Boyardee had a one night stand." I said, wiping tomato paste from her cheek.

We smiled at each other in a comfortable silence before Chiron rode to the stage to read the time. "Heroes! The times are in, in third place, we have Wade Colson and John Osborn with 10:56. In second place, we have Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase with 10:24. Finally, First Place goes to Clarisse Larue and Chris Rodriguez with 10:22. That concludes today's events until six tonight when dinner begins. Until then, enjoy your free time and don't do anything you wouldn't do on a regular day. Extended free period doesn't mean extended liberties.

"Hey Annabeth, congrats on beating me in the race." Said Wade, making his way over to us.

"Oh boy here we go." I thought to myself as he approached.

"Thanks Wade, but it wasn't just me, Percy was just as much a help as I was."

"Percy sure is a lucky man to have some one as smart and beautiful as you watching his back." Said Wade putting an arm around her shoulder.

"He sure is. You ok Percy?" Asked Annabeth

"Solid, why do you ask?" I said, forcing a smile.

"You're all red and you're shaking like a leaf." She said, leaving Wade's arm to put a hand to my head. "You're really warm too."

"I'm fine, just tired from the obstacle course. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get the corn out of my hair. I'll catch up with you later ok?" I said, giving Annabeth a smile. "Wade, good game." I said, giving his hand an extra firms squeeze before making my way to my cabin.

One shower and a change of clothes later, I found myself walking outside beside the infirmary. "Hey Perce, can you come here for a minute." Called Will Solace from the tent.

"Hey Will, What's up?" I said, moving the tent flap out of the way.

"You still have ambrosia with you?" he asked, extending his hand. I dug around my pocket until I fished out the zip lock bag that I always have with me. "Always some ambrosia when you're around. Good man." I watched as Will walked over to a girl with two legs in a cast. "Here Emily, This will help."

"What happened?" I asked looking at her casts.

"I was on the rock wall trying to climb this morning and one of the safety harnesses broke. So 30 feet later, here I am." She sighed gesturing to her legs.

The longer this day goes on, the more convinced that my dream was real. "How long until you're back on your feet?" I asked, looking at Will.

"If she keeps a steady diet of calcium and ambrosia, she'll be good as new in a week."

"But I'm going to miss the dance tonight aren't I?" chimed Emily with a heartbroken look on her face.

"Afraid so, sorry Em. If it's any consolation, I'm not attending either." Will patted her shoulder, trying to cheer her up.

"What's the matter Will, you got two left feet or what?" I asked.

"No, The only person I'm interested in dancing with is away from camp for now and I doubt they'll be back for the dance." He said, a forlorn look in his eyes.

"Ooooh Will has a crush, tell me man, what's this person like. I've seen how picky you can be. So what do they have that catches your eye?" I teased, watching the color rise to his cheeks.

"Well Mr. Nosey, if you must know, this person has dark brown, almost black hair, and lovely olive skin. The issue is, they're so mysterious that I know so little, I wouldn't even know how to approach this person." He sighed, as he moved to the basin to wash his hands.

"Oh come on Will, you're an amazing guy and besides, being the 'cutes doctor in camp' according to the Aphrodite cabin can surely net you a couple consolation prizes if this special someone doesn't work out." I said, offering a fist bump.

"You're probably right." Said Will, connecting fists. "Speaking of special someone's, I noticed you get pretty red in the face whenever Wade strikes up a conversation with Annabeth. Should I write up a prescription for blood pressure pills or do you have it covered?"

"And you call me Mr. Nosey." I said, fighting the blush on my face. "My blood pressure happens to be fine, but if you have anything for déjà vu, I wouldn't say no." I said, getting annoyed at how surreal today and my dream have been.

"Déjà vu? Hmmmm, have you consumed any flu medication? There's a couple drugs that treat flu with the side effects being feelings of déjà vu." asked Will, giving me a once over with his eyes.

"No, but it's just felt a bit like one of those days. Ever have one where you feel like you've seen it all before?" I asked, leaning against Emily's cot.

"Oh, every once and a while I do, then I remember that I've been in this Hades for saken tent for over 12 hours and I go and take a walk."

"A walk sounds good. I'm heading to the camp store, do you want anything?" I offered, making my way towards the tent flap.

"No thanks, I'm good, and Percy." I turned back to look at him. "I wouldn't be too concerned about Wade, Annabeth is so head over heals for you, and I don't think she even knows what cabin he's in." He laughed as he turned to reorganize his pill shelf.

"Hey Percy!" Cried Aaron Ramirez, rushing over to me. Complete with greased back hair (corn free might I add) and leather jacket.

"Aaron my man, what's up?

"Look, I know this is super short notice, but what are the odds that I can get you to sing one, key word, one song with us tonight."

"Aaron, why would you want to subject the audience to such torture? I'd get all of us booed off the stage."

"I've herd you sing at the campfire tones of times, you honestly think I wouldn't notice who is and isn't singing on pitch. You can sing dude so don't bother trying to deny it." He grinned, crossing his arms.

"Look man, I'm so unprepared, maybe another time with more preparation, but not tonight. Sorry."

"Please, I'm trying to impress this girl and I kind of made a bet." He begged, lowering his voice and looking side to side.

"What bet?"

"Well…. long story short, our last conversation was me bragging about my band and if I asked, any one would sing with me, and well she said she wasn't into exaggerators. So I said, pick any person in camp and if I could get them on stage with me tonight, that she would go on a date with me. She said your name and I'm begging you man. I need your help."

I felt bad for the guy, but I just was not performance ready, "I'm sorry Aaron. I really am, but I'm just not prepared. Maybe another night."

"It's fine, I knew it was a long shot anyway." He sighed, walking towards the Apollo cabin.

Time passed as usual and before I knew it, dinnertime came and went, leaving every one move towards the amphitheater, anxious for the big dance.

"Heroes!" Called Chiron. "Before the dance begins, I have a few final announcements to make. First, The forecast calls for intense heat tomorrow so be sure to have water and sunscreen on you at all times and that fireworks are scheduled for ten o'clock tonight. Now that that is out of the way, lets give a round of applause to tonight's entertainment. The Sound of muses!" The crowd cheered as the stage rose up revealing Aaron and the rest of his band, miked up and ready to preform. They started off with a cover of Jesse's Girl and carried on from there. Annabeth and I danced for a few songs before Wade made an appearance.

"Hey Percy, mind if I steal Annabeth for a dance or two?" asked Wade, extending his hand to her.

I wanted to break his hand, but then I remembered what Will had said earlier today and relaxed a bit. "That's up to Annabeth, but I am a bit thirsty. Annabeth, you want to dance with Wade while I grab us some drinks?"

She gave me a surprised look before agreeing. As they danced, I maneuvered my way between couples until I made my way to the giant punch bowl.

"Hey Will, I thought you said you weren't coming tonight?" I yelled over the music to the sandy blond boy.

"I wasn't but Chiron made me come for at least a few minutes tonight." He yelled back. He looked over my shoulder and saw Wade and Annabeth dancing to Aarons cover of 'Time after Time.' "I'm surprised you haven't stolen her away from him yet." He pointed over to the aforementioned duo.

"I'm trusting your advise for now, that and this punch really is to die for. By the way, did your mystery crush make an appearance tonight?" I asked, as we made way to an empty table.

"No unfortunately, I'm all alone tonight. I'm not even sure where this person is now."

"Have you talked to Nico Di Angelo? He's good at finding people." I yelled over the music.

"You don't have to bother him. Not everyone gets a lucky love life." he sighed, picking up his glass.

"Hears to that!" I laughed, toasting his glass before we both chugged our remaining punch.

Chiron finally took the stage as the last song ended, "Heroes! Fireworks begin in 15 minutes, so you should have plenty of time to gather your effects and find a spot at the lakeshore. So chop-chop and Happy Solstice!"

"Happy Solstice!" everyone cried before making a mad dash to his or her cabins. I dashed to my cabin and grabbed two blankets before running to the lake. In my mad dash, I collided with another body. "I'm sorry I- Hey Annabeth." I said, helping my best friend up from the ground.

"Hey Percy, where are you sitting? I might join you." She said, grabbing her blanket of the ground and walking in my direction. We walked all the way to the shoreline before turning into the woods.

"And here we are," I said, gesturing to the cliff that overlooked the lake

There was a look of awe on her face before facing me again. "You win for coolest spot. I can see everything here!" We sat in silence until the fireworks began.

"So how was Dancing with Wade."? I said, turning to face her.

"Alright, he's a pretty good dancer, but his palms are so sweaty" She turned to me, a look of mock disgust on her face.

"I can only imagine how bad mine get sometimes." I laughed, rubbing my hands together.

"Actually, your hands are nice. Strong, but gentle grip, and significantly less sweaty!" she laughed, turning back to the fireworks.

"I'm glad to know my hands preoccupy so much thought from you." I smirked, turning to face the fireworks myself. I felt a slap on my shoulder, but decided not to say anything after feeling the familiar grip of Annabeth's hand on my own. The show ended and I offered to walk her back to her cabin.

"Showing me your secret spot and offering to walk me to my door, I'm honord." Mused Annabeth, walking in sync with my step.

"As you should, only important people get such luxuries." I grinned, earning a laugh from Annabeth.

"Oh, so I'm suddenly important?" she asked, extending her hand as though it had expensive jewelry on it.

"You're as important to me as they come. Here we are, m'lady." I gestured towards the door.

"Thanks again for sharing that spot with me, I had a wonderful time in you company Seaweed Brain." She said, giving me a side hug.

"The pleasure was all mine." We locked eyes for a moment and I recalled last nights dream. I still wanted to kiss her, but that same feeling was there. This is not the time. Annabeth walked to her steps with a face of happiness but also the faintest signs of disappointment.

"Good night Percy, see you tomorrow." She said, waving goodnight and walking through the cabin threshold.

I walked back to my cabin questioning why I didn't kiss her but soon ignored it after realizing how exhausting today was. I quickly fell asleep to the thought of Annabeth kissing me under the fireworks.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, it's the solstice and we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

"What the Hades is going on here." I said, bolting up to a sitting position.

"Seriously Percy, we don't have all day to lay in bed. So get a move on!" Anabeth walked through my doorway, dressed in her same outfit she's worn for two days in a row. "Hello Percy, wipe the drool from your face before I knock you back to sleep. I'm not playing around."

"Something is very wrong! This is the third day in a row you've woken me up saying it's the solstice!" I cried, hastily putting on my clothes.

"Look, I don't know what's gotten into you but I'll be outside. Don't make me have to come back in here." She threatened, turning towards the door.

"Annabeth wait!" I yelled, but it was too late. The bucket had hit its mark for the third time in a row.

"Stolls! You're so lucky I don't have any time for your shit, but next time I see you, you're dead!"

Before she could grab her knife to throw at them, I pulled her into a hug. "Percy, what in Hades are you-"

"Look, all dry." I said, letting her go. She stopped raging and found herself as dry as she was before walking outside.

"And that's why you're my best friend. Thanks," she said walking towards the pavilion.

"Hey Annabeth!" I look to the side and see Wade Colson running down the hill. "Annabeth, my Greek mythology quiz is right after breakfast and if I fail it, Chiron will have me on dish duty for a week. What did Theseus forget to do when returning home?"

"Didn't he forget to fly black sails or something and his dad killed himself from sadness?" I asked before Annabeth could say anything.

"That's right, how did you know that Seaweed Brain?" gawked Annabeth with a surprised but impressed look on her face.

"A lucky guess…Umm, I'm not feeling that hungry and I just remembered that I needed to see Will this morning. I'll catch you after breakfast!" I yelled, making a run towards the medical tent. "Will!" I shouted, pulling open the flap. To my relief, I saw Will, with a muffin in hand looking at me like I was a lunatic. "Will, I need your help man. I think I'm finally losing it. I woke up this morning to Annabeth yelling at me and the Stolls dropped water on her head and-"

"You're yelling for my help about girl trouble?! It's to early in the morning for this" He groaned.

"You're not listening! The Stolls dropped water on her head but I knew they were going to do it because they did it yesterday morning and the day before that. I'm living the exact same day!" I exclaimed, taking a seat on an empty cot.

Will looked at me like I had a second head before putting a hand on my forehead. "Hmmm, no fever, but I do believe you've lost your mind. What you're describing is a groundhog day."

"A what?"

"A groundhog day. In the 90's, Bill Murry was in a movie about a guy who was forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over again, with him being the only one aware of the time loop. A good movie for sure, but I don't believe that it could ever happen."

Suddenly, the tent flap flew open as Chris Rodriguez carried in a brunette woman with her legs bent at odd angles. "Will, I need you!" yelled Chris, laying her on a cot.

"What happened? How did she break both of her legs?!" yelled Will, scrabbling for cast plaster.

"She was on the Rock wall and-"

"The safety harness failed, and she fell thirty feet and broke both legs." I interrupted, earning looks from both occupants in the tent.

"How did you know?" gasped Chris.

"I told you Will, this is the third time I've seen Emily in this tent and if things keep going the way I think they will, it won't be the last." I groaned, pulling out the ambrosia squares for Will to feed Emily.

"I've got it from here Chris. Thanks for bringing her in.," said Will as he sent Chris out of the tent flap. "As for you Percy, I'm not sure what you did to piss off the Fates, but you've convinced me. You are officially Bill Murry."

"I realize that now, but how do I get out of it and how long will it take?" I asked, as he began mixing plaster.

"There's been debate for a long time about how long Bill Murry's character was trapped in the film. Some say it was only a month, some say it was ten thousand years because of an omitted scene where he dumps his girlfriend and she cursed-"

"TEN THOUSAND YEARS! I'm going to spend ten thousand years waking up to Annabeth threatening to kick my ass?!" I cried, jumping to my feet.

"Relax! I'm sure it won't last ten thousand years. Look, in the movie, Bill Murry's character was a jerk and he spent the loop trying to be a better person. That was his task from the universe. I'm sure once you figure out what the universe wants from you, you'll break the loop."

"How long do you think that will take?" I sighed, taking a seat again on the cot.

"Who knows, but hey, you have all day to figure it out." Laughed Will as he began applying plaster to Emily's legs.

"You're not funny Will." I growled as I made my way to the tent flap.

"Percy!" he called, before I left the tent. I turned my head to face him again. "If this is just like the movie, then I probably won't remember this conversation tomorrow. So remember, just find out what you need to do and the loop will end."

"I got it. Thanks for the help Will." I sighed, leaving the tent to meet up with Annabeth as promised.

I walked towards the dining pavilion as breakfast came to an end, hoping to catch Annabeth on the way out.

"Hey Percy!" yelled Annabeth, jogging over to me. "Capture the flag is in two hours and you're on my team. Can you help me make a plan of attack?" pleaded Annabeth, giving me puppy dog eyes. Damn her for being so cute.

"Yes, I can help. Should we do it in my cabin?" I offered, looking around for any eavesdropping ears.

"Sounds good, I'll get the usual supplies and meet you there in five minutes." She yelled over her shoulder as she jogged towards the Athena Cabin.

"So I was thinking we should try doing a blitzkrieg in the game. I'll get a group of our fastest runners and we'll be wearing light armor sets so we can grab the flag before they even know we're there." Mused Annabeth as she drew some x's and arrows on a piece of paper.

"With the light armor, you'll get roughed up pretty bad by Hellhounds." I pointed out, remembering the events of yesterday.

"Hellhounds? What makes you say they have Hellhounds?"

"Drew can charm speak. Who's to say it doesn't work on animals?" I mused, studying her battle plan.

"It doesn't work on animals…does it?" questioned Annabeth, looking really hard at the paper before her.

"I say you should get a thicker armor set." I suggested with more confidence.

"I-I can't. The game starts in half an hour and I'm going to bet that you're overthinking it."

"Now there's a sentence I don't hear every day." I laughed.

"Besides, even if your one in a million theory is true, the Stolls are going to trap the path to the flag. They won't get through it.

"How are they designing the traps?" I inquired.

"Celestic bronze trip wires that launch tranquilizer darts, metal nets that the Hephaestus cabin designed, and a sonic trap that will ring their bell like a flash bang grenade went off inside their head." She grinned, pointing to the squares on the paper.

"This is all metal and electronics, what if Clarisse electrocutes them with 'Lamer'?" I asked, remembering more details from yesterday.

"There's no way in Hades she could pull it off. Every trap is a disconnected unit. Unless there are torrential level showers in the next 30 minutes, there's no way she could fry them all. Besides, she never goes down the middle, she always flanks from the right or plays defense." She flashed me a confident smile. "My plan is fool proof."

"I still think that you should use a heavier duty armor set." I sighed as we walked out of my cabin towards the edge of the forest. I felt bad about not pushing Annabeth to change her plan, but if everything goes the same as yesterday, then I know she'll be fine. "Come on Wise Girl, let's brief the team."

I walked out of the woods after flooding the battlefield for the third time in three days to see Annabeth walking towards me covered in bruises and bite marks. "Let me guess, there were Hellhounds, and your armor was too light to offer real protection and Clarisse fried all the traps because of a group of squirt gun wielding soldiers hosed down a path for her to electrify." I said, looking her up and down.

"Everything you thought would go wrong did, how did you know?" she sighed, rubbing her shoulder under her dented armor.

"I just had a bad feeling about it." I said, handing her my zip lock bag of Ambrosia. I watched her wounds disappear as she ate a square of Ambrosia.

"Next time, I'm going to have to listen to your bad feelings out there. I feel like a complete fool." Groaned Annabeth, wiping her face in shame.

"Hey now, you did the best that you could. You made a bad call. That's why we play this game, to make bad calls where they don't matter. You're the smartest person I know and I still trust you with my life above anyone else." I said, cupping her face in my hands.

"Thanks Perce, I needed that." Smiled Annabeth, pulling my hands from her face. "But how did you know about the hounds and the water. You're smarter then you look, but not even I am that smart."

"I'm actually Bill Murry and I've been living the same day over and over again." I sighed, only half jokingly.

"Fine, don't tell me." She laughed, giving me a gentle punch to the shoulder. "I'm going to shower, meet me at the obstacle course at 1:20 ok?"

"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" We high fived and she jogged off towards her cabin.

"Hey Prissy, what's it like to lose again." Shouted Clarisse, making her way over to me.

"Oh you know, just another day in the life. I heard about the squirt guns. How did you know about the traps?" I asked.

"Any team with the Stolls has traps out the ear around the flag. The idea to use Maimer with squirt guns came to my last night when Chris showed me a YouTube video."

"It was a good idea, but if you and Chris think that you can beat Annabeth and I in the obstacle course race, then you've got another think coming."

"Bold talk for someone who's oh and one today with me. I'll see you around Jackson." Called Clarisse over the shoulder flashing me a thumbs up as she walked away.

"Great, now I have to get my ass kicked by that stupid obstacle course again." I sighed, walking towards my cabin.

The obstacle course went as well as expected, my back is purple from the rotating dummies and some of the tiles are worse than others. Annabeth and I tried a new rout and found the tile that set off the Greek fire traps. I wasn't attached to the shirt I was wearing anyway.

"If I'm still stuck in this loop, I'll get my shirt back tomorrow." I sighed to myself, wondering what I was going to do. You save the world more times than you've gone on dates and what do you get, the same bull shit AND the same day. I had a quick snack and decided I'll go talk to Will since Annabeth was reading and Grover is off on another adventure.

I pulled the tent flap back, expecting to find Will organizing pills, instead the place was quiet. "Hey Will, you here!" I called.

"He's not here, he left for lunch about 10 minutes ago." Called a feminine voice.

I turned and saw it belonged to the girl who Chris brought in today; I think Emily was her name.

"How are the legs feeling Emily?" I asked, taking a seat on the opposite bed.

"They're fine. Will said I should be fully healed and walking by next week." She sighed, looking down at her cast.

"Gotta love nectar and ambrosia, if we were normal, that would be a few months away."

"It is nice, but I wish that this would have happened tomorrow. It sucks that I have to miss the dance."

"I would trade places with you if I could, I kind of have two left feet." I laughed, rubbing the back of my head.

"Thanks, I can see why Annabeth likes you, you're sweet." She giggled. "I was kind of hoping that maybe I would get lucky and meet someone at the dance tonight, but oh well, maybe next year."

I felt the blood rush to my face at the Annabeth comment, but quickly regained my composure. "Emily, do you want me to grab you anything? I'm not doing anything. "

"No, I appreciate it, but I'm good. If I were you though, I'd start getting ready for the dance tonight. I'd hate to keep Annabeth waiting." She called as I left the tent.

"I'll see you around Emily." I called, walking to my cabin.

I made my way to the amphitheater with the rest of camp and spent a few minutes making small talk with friends until Chiron took to the stage.

"Heroes! Before the dance begins, I have a few final announcements to make. First, The forecast calls for intense heat tomorrow so be sure to have water and sunscreen on you at all times and that fireworks are scheduled for ten o'clock tonight. Now that that is out of the way, lets give a round of applause to tonight's entertainment. The Sound of muses!" The crowd cheered as the stage rose up revealing Aaron and the rest of his band, miked up and ready to preform. They started off singing Jesse's Girl and carried on from there. Annabeth and I danced for a few songs before Wade made an appearance.

"Hey Percy, would you mind if I stole Annabeth for a dance or two?" he asked, extending a hand to Annabeth.

Don't get me wrong, I still wanted to break his hand, but I remembered Annabeth's description about their dances and I wasn't too worried. "You're asking the wrong person, Annabeth, would you like to dance with Wade while I grab us something to drink?"

A look of surprise overcame her as she agreed and took Wade's hand. I watched them drift off into the crowd as I meandered over to Will and the punch bowl. "Chiron made you attend?" I yelled over the music.

"Yeah, said something about cabin fever and there being no medication for it." He joked, filling up his cup. "I'm surprised you're not giving Wade a death glare right now."

I looked over and saw Wade and Annabeth. Wade was talking and Annabeth was forcing a smile while trying her best to hide her disgust.

"He's got sweaty hands, Annabeth is suffering now more than I am right now. Did your mysterious crush arrive?"

"No, not everyone gets a happy ending with their love life." He sighed, handing me a glass.

"You can say that again brother." We tapped glasses and downed our punch before I grabbed one more for Annabeth.

"I herd Nico Di Angelo is good at finding people, should I have him help you out?" I asked, before turning to leave.

"I'll be alright, I don't need to bother him."

Chiron finally took the stage as the last song ended, "Heroes! Fireworks begin in 15 minutes, so you should have plenty of time to gather your effects and find a spot at the lakeshore. So chop-chop and Happy Solstice!"

"Happy Solstice!" everyone cried before running back to his or her cabins. I dashed to my cabin and grabbed the two blankets before knocking down Annabeth for the third time in a row.

"Jeeze Seaweed Brain, get the kelp out of your eyes." She groaned as I helped her up.

"I'm sorry, would you like to join me in my secret spot as a token of my apology?" I offered.

She put on a look of fake debate. "I'll check it out, but if it's not absolutely amazing, I will demand suitable compensation for my time." She teased.

"Careful, you use too many big words like that and I'll get a headache."

We descended to the shoreline and walked for a while until I turned into the woods to my secret spot.

"And here we are," I said, gesturing to the cliff that overlooked the lake

There was a look of awe on her face before facing me again. "You win for coolest spot. I can see everything here!" We sat in silence until the fireworks lit up the.

"So how sweaty were Wades hands, you look like you were about ready to die out there."

Annabeth shuddered at the memory and absentmindedly rubbed her hand on her blanket. "Imagine holding two skinless chicken breast, they were so cold and clammy."

"You know he likes you right?" I said, turning to face her.

"I do, and he's a nice guy and all but, he just doesn't float my boat. I feel like I'm not super picky with men but sometimes you meet someone who checks off all the items on the list, and you steel feel like they need to offer more to the table."

"I understand completely, there's the not so great people, the average Joes, and the attractive people."

"Don't forget the unapproachably attractive people." Annabeth interrupted.

"What, the people like you?" I interjected.

Annabeth's cheeks took on a pink hue as she coughed a bit. "What do you mean, I'm not unapproachably attractive."

"Yes you are. If I had a Drachma for every time I've herd a guy call you scary and beautiful, I'd be richer than King Midas himself."

"If I'm so unapproachable, than how come you talk to me?" She smirked.

"The first time I spoke to you, I just woke up from a coma. You try doing something rational after taking a concussion nap." I smirked back."

I felt Annabeth lean her head against my shoulder as we watched the rest of the fireworks in silence.

"Let me take you back to your cabin." I said, packing up our stuff after the show.

"Offering to walk me home, quite the Gentleman you are Perseus. I'll have to commend Sally for her training." She teased, wrapping her arm around mine.

"This is a one time only opportunity so enjoy it while it last." I teased.

"Thank you for taking me to your secret spot, I had a really fun time with you tonight Percy."

"Oh any time, but I believe this is your cabin m'lady." I gestured towards the cabin door.

"Thank you kind sir for your escort and I will see you tomorrow." She curtsied with a mock English accent.

Feeling bold, and knowing she wont remember this tomorrow, I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Good night Annabeth, see you tomorrow." Before walking away from a still dumbfounded Annabeth. I crawled into my bed and got comfortable hoping that tomorrow is different, but knowing my luck, it wont be.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, it's the solstice and we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

"Of course we do." I groaned, rolling out of bed and putting my clothes on.

Annabeth walked into my cabin in her usual attire for the time. "Oh good you're up. Ready for the big day?" she asked, walking towards the door.

I grabbed her arm, stopping her stride. "I am, but first let me do you a favor." I stepped outside and herd the sound of water splash around me, but none of it getting me wet.

"Ah come on Perce, that was meant for Annabeth!" groaned Connor, holding an empty bucket.

"Sorry guys, we have a big day today and no time for pranks. Better luck next time." I called to the roof. "Coast is clear Annabeth, you can step out now."

"How did you know they were up there? I was about to get soaked."

"I heard them climb up, but we had a schedule?" I said tapping my watch.

As we walked towards the dining pavilion, I saw Wade running towards us. "Hey Annabeth!"

Wade ran up to us a little out of breath "Annabeth, my Greek mythology quiz is right after breakfast and if I fail it, Chiron will have me on dish duty for a week. What did Theseus-"?

"He didn't fly black sails and his father committed suicide." I interrupted, digging into my pockets. "Hey Wade, when you walk by the medical tent, can you drop off this bag of ambrosia to Will on your way? He's going to be running low on it and it would save me a trip." I didn't give him time to answer as I dropped the bag of ambrosia squares into his hands and continued onto the pavilion.

"What was that?" asked Annabeth, "First the bucket of water, then the question with Wade, you alright?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I commented as I handed her a plate of pancakes and bacon.

"Ok now you're scaring me, not once have I ever asked you to grab me a plate and you just happen to know exactly what I want. Did you learn how to read minds?"

I sighed after taking a sip of orange juice. "Ever have a day where you're just on one? A day where you can see everything coming at you and you're ready for it? Because today is my day. Also, stay away the third stall in the girl's bathroom by the archery range. The Stolls rigged the plumbing to shoot water out of the toilet instead of draining it. I have to go now, there's a pack of hell hounds in the woods that I would like to dispose of, before we play capture the flag today."

I could feel the strange looks I was getting from her as I walked away, but I was use to it at this point.

"Three cheers for Percy!" cried Malcolm as the crowd hoisted me on their shoulders. The crowd cheered and started chanting my name and carried me off with the banner in hand before throwing me into the lake. When I resurfaced, I saw Annabeth overlooking me with a peculiar look as she pulled me onto the dock.

"Ok, I get that you're having a good day of guessing, but what gives? You just happened to know where every person and trap was on the enemy team?" pressured Annabeth, looking at me like I'm a new design for a building.

"I told you, I'm on one today, and I'm sorry about breaking formation. I just had a feeling that I needed to do what I did." I apologized, hoping to avoid where this conversation inevitably goes.

"I've known you for three years now Perce, I know when you're holding something back, so if you respect me as your best friend, you'll tell me what's going on."

I gave her a saddened look and let out the sigh I was holding in. "Look Annabeth, I do respect you, but you won't understand."

I tried to walk away but she grabbed my arm and gave me that begging face that I can never turn down. "Come on Seaweed Brain, we've been through tough situations before, let me help you."

"Fine, the truth is that I'm not having a good day of guessing. I'm living the same day over and over again. And now's the part where you don't believe me. I know this because this is far from the first time we've had this conversation."

She looked stunned for a moment before speaking. "How many times have we had this conversation then?"

"At this point, I've lost count. Next you're going to say prove it to you and you're going to ask me to say what you're thinking. You say what number you're thinking of but when I say a number you say you were thinking of the color yellow. After that you –" I dodged her punch and countered her attempt at judo flipping me by putting her in a hold. "As I was saying, after that you try to punch me and flip me over your side like that." I released her from the hold and watched as she picked her jaw off of the floor.

"Percy I had no idea. How long have you been going through this?" she gave me a sympathetic look and began rubbing my back.

"It's felt like forever. I've prayed to every god and minor god, I've read every book in camp, I've even tried staying up all night, but it's no use. No matter what I do, I wake up to you yelling at me to get out of bed." I felt her pull me into a hug and I melted into it. "I just want it to end." I sobbed into her shoulder. We stayed like that for a few minutes, me quietly crying into her shoulder and Annabeth running her fingers through my hair to calm me down.

"You feeling better Seaweed Brain?" whispered Annabeth after a while.

"For the first time in forever. Yes I do… thanks." I smiled at her.

"We're a team, we need to stick together, now more than ever. Now as a team, what do you say to blowing off the events and watch movies in your cabin instead, or have I suggested this a million times." She asked, rubbing the back of her neck embarrassed.

"Actually, this is a first for me. I'd love some change for once." I beamed, walking towards the cabins.

"What I still can't believe is, despite living an entire lifetime by now, you still haven't seen the Lord of the Rings films?" Laughed Annabeth as the credits to Return of the King finally rolled.

"No, I haven't, and what's with Peter Jackson and the ending. You could pick any of the five endings from the movie and be satisfied, but no, we need all five because this series isn't long enough." I ranted, throwing my hands in the air.

"Would you kill me if I told you that there are extended directors versions of the films, and we watched only the theatrical cuts?"

I turned and threw a pillow at her face. Then she threw it back at me and we started the most brutal pillow fight in the history of Camp Half-Blood.

"Hey wha-what time is it?" Panted Annabeth, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"11:59, why?" I breathed, looking at my alarm clock.

Annabeth stared at the clock hard for a moment before it changed to midnight. "It's midnight, the solstice is over!" she beamed at me.

"Not quite, " I sighed, knowing what she was expecting. The date may have changed, but my day is not over. I could stay up all night, but no mater what I do, the second I dose off, I'll wake up in that bed with the Stolls sitting on my roof and you threatening to kick my ass."

"Oh, how long have you gone before falling asleep?" asked Annabeth, taking a seat next to me on my bed.

"All night, but the second that clock hits eight A.M, I wake up in my bed. I've just accepted the fact that it doesn't work so I've stopped trying."

Annabeth laid down and pulled me into a cuddling position. "I'm sorry. It's not fair that you have to be in this hell all by yourself. I wish there was a way I could help you."

I looked at her, admiring the closeness of my situation and thought about what to say next. "It's not your fault. But let me ask you this. If you were in my position, living every day over. What would you do?"

"Well, first, I would eat every dessert in camp. No questions asked." She laughed.

"Did that, twice. Took me a month before I could even look at a slice of cake without gaging."

She gave me a look to see if I was exaggerating at all (I wasn't), before speaking. "After that…I don't know, maybe I would try and be a better person. Pick up a new hobby or something. I'd need some time to think about it more."

"The sad part is Wise girl, In a few hours, I'm gonna fall asleep and you're not going to remember anything about today."

Annabeth gave me a sad look before leaning over and giving me a peck on the cheek. "Then do us both a favor and remember that. Goodnight Seaweed Brain." Said Annabeth as she turned away and dosed off.

If my face wasn't red from the pillow fight, then it was now. "Good night, A-Annabeth" I stuttered as I closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed, waiting for Annabeth. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, it's the solstice and we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

"Right on schedule," I groaned. I thought about what Annabeth said. Maybe she was right. All this time, I've been doing things for myself. Maybe it's time I helped someone else.

"Seriously Percy, we don't have all day to lay in bed. So get a move on!"

I rolled out of bed and changed my clothes before turning to Annabeth. "It's going to be a long day, sorry in advance if you don't see as much of me as you planned." I walked out the door and herd the water splash on my head for the trillionth time.

"Come on Perce, That was for Annabeth." I heard Connor complain from my rooftop.

"Sorry guys, there's no time!" I called. "It's safe now Annabeth."

She gave me a look of confusion and gratitude. "Thanks Seaweed Brain."

"Don't sweat it. That's just one of a billion things I need to do today. Speaking of which, here's number two."

I saw Wade run up to us in usual fashion, question at the ready. "Annabeth, I-"

"Wade, it's good you're here." I interrupted. "The answer to your question is He didn't fly black sails and his father killed himself. I need a favor. Here are five Drachmas for your time. I need you to go to the rock wall and tell Emily that she doesn't owe me anything. It's very important."

Wade gave me a look of confusion and slight terror, but he felt the coins in his hand and must have decided that flirting with Annabeth could wait for a quick detour. "Sure…I'll see you guys later."

"What's so important that you hade to pay Wade five Drachmas, and what did you do for Emily?" asked Annabeth as we continued on and entered the dining pavilion.

"Right now, I'm killing two birds with one stone, I'll explain more tonight. By the way, do you still have that pen and note pad on you? I need to barrow it right now." Annabeth handed me the note pad and I began writing up all the reminders I needed and spent the rest of breakfast, giving notes to people.

"Ok Perce so the plan is you-"

"Hold that thought Annabeth." I said, pushing my bunk bed to the wall so I could access the window.

"Percy, you're going to fall and kill your last two brain cells. Now what is it you're doing?" asked Annabeth, looking up from her plans.

"Let me ask you this. Why were the Stolls on my roof this morning?" I asked, climbing to the top bunk.

"To pour water on me." She deadpanned.

"They just happen to know that you would wake me up this morning, something you do once a month, if even?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I had a thought, and bare with me, what if they were on my roof for a different reason, and they brought the water with them on the off chance you would show up?" I yelled, reaching from the high window onto the roof.

"And what would they be doing up there?"

I felt what I was looking for and pulled it inside to show Annabeth. "Remember last week when Connor and Travis both got those PS4s smuggled into camp to start their underground gamers club and charge people to play. I was thinking about it and those guys spend money like its going out of style and they would never be patient enough to save up for one, let alone eight PS4s. So they either broke into a Best Buy and stole several thousand dollars worth of game systems and HDTVs which we would have herd about on the news, or they came into a large amount of Drachmas recently and paid someone to smuggle the consuls into camp for them. Who's to say they weren't paid off by the Ares cabin to plant a bug and hear our strategies?"

"But the Stolls are on our team. They wouldn't sabotage themselves would they?"

I climbed off the bed and dropped the device I found on the table. "Believe what you want, but this thing has a microphone on it and the only people who were on my roof today were the Stolls."

Annabeth took the device off the table and promptly smashed it with her shoe. "Those back stabbing bastards. Well, if they thing that they can cross me and get away with it, they have another think coming…"

The crowd cheered as they hoisted Annabeth and I onto their shoulders in a mock victory parade. Annabeth's plan had worked perfectly. She had positioned the Stolls on the outskirts where she thought the Ares Cabin would flank and had the rest of the Hermes cabin booby trap the area with the Stolls as bait. With the best fighters out of the way, our team was able to steam roll them to victory.

"What the Hell Annabeth!" yelled a rough looking pair of Stoll brothers.

I saw a devilish smirk play on Annabeth's lips as she approached them. "Now boys, let that be a lesson to you, and if I catch wind that you betray me again, not only let slip to Chiron where your gamers club is, but I will see to it that your punishment will be so severe that the three Furies will rise from the underworld to take notes on how to truly make humans suffer. We clear."

The two Stolls turned a ghostly pale at the glare Annabeth was giving them and promptly ran off.

"Well that was fun, want to grab a snack before the race?" asked Annabeth

"I would, but I've still got a lot to do on my list. I'll see you at the race ok." I yelled before running off.

I thought things were going very well so far. I closed the gate on the Pegasus stalls before they all could escape, I fixed the plumbing in the girls bathroom after the Stolls tried to make the toilets overflow instead of flush when the lever was pulled, I even managed to get Will the extra Ambrosia he needed.

Now that it was 1:20, I found Annabeth in the crowd, in time for the race.

"You look tired. Finish everything on your list?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"Not even close. But that's ok; it's all time sensitive jobs anyway. I think the race is starting."

"Heroes!" boomed Chiron's voice, silencing every one. "First, let me congratulate the Blue team on their victory in capture the flag!" There were a few cheers from the Blue team members before Chiron stamped his hoof for attention. "Now, for the obstacle course. This is a two-person event in which you and your partner must work together to get to the end of the course in one piece. So I need all partners to stand beside each other so that they can enjoy the ties of friendship!" laughed Chiron. "Friendship, being this new material I had the Hephaestus cabin make for this occasion. This cloth has fine wires of celestial bronze infused within it, increasing it's strength and making it immune to any tampering, I'm looking at you Connor and Travis!"

There were some laughs in the crowd at that comment until Wade spoke up. "Uh, Chiron, what are the nymphs doing?" he asked, pointing down to the nymphs surrounding his and another camper's feet.

"Tying the bond. Didn't I tell you guys? This is a three legged race."

"Chiron you son of a bitch" I laughed silently to myself. I felt a nudge from my side. Annabeth must have heard me but she was shaking from a small giggle she had herself.

"Now that everyone is tied, when I shoot up the flair in my hand, that is the signal that the race has begun. So good luck everyone and have fun." He lifted his arm to fire but lowered it to everyone's disappointment. "One more thing, First place team gets a week long pass on all chores." The flair shot from his hand and we took off running.

"Percy! Slow down, I can't keep up!" complained Annabeth as we completed the mad dash and approached the rotating dummies.

"Annabeth, hold on to me tight and just let me guide us!" I yelled. I pulled her into a hug and began walking backwards. I knew this course like the back of my hand. After ducking, weaving, and some bobbing, I managed to maneuver us out of there unscathed.

"Percy, that was amazing, how did you-"

"I'll explain later. We have to go!"

We crossed the bridge without issue and finally made it to the tiles.

"This is very important Wise girl, I need you to watch my feet and step only where I step. Do you trust me?"

She gave me a look like I was insane, but nodded and watched my feet. It was almost like a dance to me by now. I had run this course so many times by now I had every tile memorized. The one to my left would throw Greek fire at me. The one two steps ahead would drop us into a ten foot hole. The one behind me would shoot creamed corn at us (Seriously, whose idea was the corn?) We crossed the finish line unscathed as Chiron trotted up to us.

"Percy, Annabeth, Amazing work! We'll record your time and give rankings after the next group has gone.

"Nice work Seaweed Brain, and how did you know how to maneuver through all of that? I was expecting to have a thousand bruises by now from those dummies, but you avoided them all."

"What can I say, I'm having a good day today." I lied, happy to be done with that obstacle course of death.

"Well whatever it is, keep doing it, it'll save our ass some day for sure."

We smiled at each other in a comfortable silence before Chiron rode to the stage to read the time. "Heroes! The times are in, in third place, we have Wade Colson and John Osborn with 10:56. In second place, we have Clarisse Larue and Chris Rodriguez with 10:22. Finally, First Place goes to Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase with 8:44. That concludes today's events until six tonight when dinner begins. Until then, enjoy your free time and don't do anything you wouldn't do on a regular day. Extended free period doesn't mean extended liberties.

I looked into the crowd waiting for Wade to show up again and flirt with Annabeth, but he was late. "You waiting for someone Seaweed Brain?" asked Annabeth.

I looked at the crowd again, confused as to why he wasn't showing up, not that I was complaining. "No, just thought I saw something. I still have a few more things on my to do list. I'll meet you at the dance at 7, sound good?"

"Sure, see you at 7 o'clock." She said. I could see the curiosity and mild disappointment on her face, but I had to ignore it because in about three minutes, if I don't loan Hannah a drachma before she gets to the general store, she won't have the supplies to help Katie Gardner get ready which will free up Travis Stolls night, which will be a big pain in my ass later. Gods this is a long day.

I had just finished helping Malcolm trouble shoot his laptop when Aaron approached me. "Hey Percy!" Cried Aaron Ramirez, rushing over to me.

"Aaron my man, what's up?

"Look, I know this is super short notice, but what are the odds that I can get you to sing one, key word, one song with us tonight."

"That is short notice, can I ask why you picked me out of all of the camps singers?"

"The truth is I'm trying to impress this girl and I kind of made a bet." He begged, lowering his voice and looking side to side.

"What bet?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Well…. long story short, our last conversation was me bragging about my band and if I asked, any one would sing with me, and well she said she wasn't into exaggerators. So I said, pick any person in camp and if I could get them on stage with me tonight, that she would go on a date with me. She said your name and I'm begging you man. I need your help."

"Normally, I'd be mad that you're making bets on me, but today, I'm in a good mood. I'll sing, but I get to pick the song." I grinned.

"DUDE, I owe you big time!" cried Aaron, pulling me into a hug. "Come on, we need to rehearse ASAP!" He grabbed my arm and dragged me away to the Apollo cabin.

"Heroes! Before the dance begins, I have a few final announcements to make." I herd Chiron call from above the stage. "First, The forecast calls for intense heat tomorrow so be sure to have water and sunscreen on you at all times and that fireworks are scheduled for ten o'clock tonight. Now that that is out of the way, lets give a round of applause to tonight's entertainment. The Sound of Muses!"

The stage rose up from beneath reveling the entire camp before me. I've stood before the entire council of Olympians before and didn't feel near as nervous. At the front of the crowd, I saw Annabeth looking at me like I had a second head. I couldn't help but laugh and that helped my stage fright a lot.

"We ready guys?" I asked, turning to the band.

"Yep, all right Craig, just like we rehearsed!" yelled Aaron, giving a tempo. Craig began beating on the drums with Aaron playing some notes on a synthetic keyboard, giving me my queue

 _You got me freaking out  
I guess we're even now  
Baby why you leaving now?  
You should see me now  
Been knocking on the wood  
And lately I've been looking good  
Baby, I just wish you could  
Come by the neighborhood_

B-b-b-back in time have you heard the news  
Love like mine, met with mixed reviews  
Don't you want to kiss me someday too  
Should be a party let's dance  
Last words famous  
I got to say this  
Right here now  
Tomorrow is a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Last words famous  
I got to say this right here now  
Tomorrow is a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Yesterday yesterday it's just a day away  
It's just a day away

Don't know where you went  
No object permanence  
I see I looked up what it meant  
And now it's making sense  
So yeah my timing sucks  
I'm just so good at messing up  
But I'm fixing to change my luck  
Turns out enough's enough

B-b-b-back in time have you heard the news  
Love like mine, met with mixed reviews  
Don't you want to kiss me someday too  
If it's a party let's dance  
Last words famous  
I got to say this right here now  
Tomorrow is a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Last words famous  
I got to say this right here now  
Tomorrow is a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Yesterday, yesterday, It's just a day away  
It's just a day away

Craig slowed down the drumbeat, letting me have my rock star speech. "Ladies and Gentlemen, lets give it up for the Sound of Muses!" The crowd began cheering at that. "Over here on the drums, we have Craig of Apollo cabin, keeping that steady beat all night long. Over here we have Adam, also from Apollo cabin, on guitar, and back up vocals, keeping me on pitch, thank you Adam!" Craig gave a brief drum solo while Adam hit the whammy bar of his guitar, while still keeping a steady beat. "And finally, we have my main man, on keyboard, eighty eight fingers Aaron, also singing back up. That's right ladies, he's good with his mouth and Fingers." I herd a few screams from the crowd that I couldn't help but laugh at. "As for me, I'm just Percy Jackson, a nobody who got asked to sing tonight by Aaron, and how could I refuse an offer like that. Anyway, I'm boring you. Lets get back to the song!"

 _Last words famous  
I got to say this  
Right here now  
Tomorrow is a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Last words famous  
I got to say this, right here now  
Tomorrow's a day away  
Don't let go tonight by tomorrow this will be yesterday  
Yesterday yesterday yesterday is just a day away  
It's just a day away_

The crowd went wild as we finished up and I walked off the stage, letting the band finish up the dance.

"Hey you." Said Annabeth, tapping my shoulder from behind.

"Hey you, I smiled. "What's up."?

"I was about to get mad that seven o'clock came and you weren't here. But now I'm mad that you didn't tell me you would be preforming. I didn't know you could sing like that."

"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents. Also Aaron owes me a huge favor now." I herd the familiar bars of Time After Time, and remembered where I was. "Annabeth, would you like to dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I took her hand and we glided along the dance floor. "So you can sing AND dance. I'm impressed."

"I've been dancing for a few years now," I smirked. "In our line of work, I just don't get to show it off." We danced for a few more moments before Annabeth laid her head on my shoulder.

"I also had a lot of people asking where you were. They all wanted to say thanks for something or other. You did have a busy day today didn't you."

I smiled and gave her a small spin before pulling her close to me again. "I did, and tomorrow might be just as busy if all doesn't go well."

"I'm sure it will. Everyone here is so happy because of you. By the way, how did you even get Nico to come to camp? He hates dances." Asked Annabeth, pointing over to a table.

I turned to see him and Will chatting away about something. "Will needed Nico's help to track down a mystery crush. Nico said he wasn't interested and that's when I learned something. Apparently, every one has a weakness. Nico's happens to be Mythomagic figurines and McDonalds gift cards. On a more important note, how long do I have before Wade steals you away from me."

Annabeth gave me a confused look before a look of remembrance. "Didn't you hear? Wade has a new flame now. I herd something about Wade heroically catching Emily as she fell of the rock wall. Apparently it was right after we…" she paused to give me a hard look. "Did you happen to have anything to do with that? I remember you sent Wade there to tell Emily something."

I looked into the crowd and saw the happy couple staring at each other, oblivious to the world around them. "You caught me, I knew Emily's safety harness would fail so I paid Wade to be the one to save her so that she would fall in love with her knight in shining armor and live happily ever after, all while making Wade leave you alone." I grinned.

She gave me a light hit on the chest and came in closer to my embrace. We stayed that way for the rest of the dance.

Chiron finally took the stage after the last song, "Heroes! Fireworks begin in 15 minutes, so you should have plenty of time to gather your effects and find a spot at the lakeshore. So chop-chop and Happy Solstice!"

I turned to Annabeth. "Meet me on the lake shore in ten minutes ok." She gave me a nod and went off to her cabin to grab supplies. I went to my own and did the same. Time passed and I found myself standing on the shore with blankets in arm, looking for Annabeth. "Have all your stuff?"

"Yep, we sitting here?" she asked.

"Nope, now hold my hand and fallow me and whatever you do. Don't let go." I extended my hand to her. She looked at it for a moment before grasping it. Together we walked into the lake. We walked for a few minutes until we were directly in the middle of the lake. "Watch this." I said with a wink. I dropped my stuff and with my free hand, I waved it and created a column of air straight to the surface.

"Now tell me Seaweed brain, was this journey to take me to a cool spot or just an excuse for you to hold my hand." She grinned, moving to organize our gear.

"Would you let go if I said a bit of both?"

"Would I get soaked if I did?"

"You might want to keep holding." I laughed. With our blankets organized, we laid down and began looking up at the show.

"This is the best fireworks show I've ever seen. Thanks Percy."

"I figured that you've seen more of these than anybody. I might as well try and spice it up a little." I felt her let go of my hand and wrap her arms around my torso. If this was how every day was going to end for me, maybe it's not so bad after all.

The fire works show ended and I began escorting Annabeth back to the Athena Cabin. "Wow, you're even walking me home. Quite the gentleman you are Perseus." She laughed, wrapping her arm around mine.

"A lady should always be escorted after dark." I exclaimed, turning to her cabin steps. "Welcome home, M'lady."

She gave me a mock curtsy before straightening up. "I had an amazing night tonight Percy, thank you."

I looked at her and thought of how absolutely beautiful she was. It would be unfair of me to take advantage of her knowing that she would never remember it, but to Hades with it. I pulled her into a kiss and felt fireworks that would put tonight's show to shame. "The pleasure was all mine Miss. Chase." I whispered before leaving a stunned Annabeth at the door. I crawled into my bed thinking how I'm going to have to do all of this again tomorrow and making sure not to forget anything.

The breakfast horn sounded in the distance, waking me from my slumber. I stirred, accepting that sleep was impossible, and sat up in bed. "Get out of bed Seaweed Brain, we have a life time's worth of things that need to be done!" Annabeth shouted, pounding on my door.

I groaned, rolling out of bead, ready for my daily ear beating. Annabeth walked into my cabin looking as impatient as usual. Suddenly, I felt a pair of lips on mine and I couldn't remember my own name.

"Are you up now Seaweed Brain, or do I need to remind you that Chiron cancelled everyone's schedule so its just you, me, and my new bikini today." She purred, kissing my cheek.

Well that was different. I ran out of my cabin into the sweltering heat, waiting for the water that never came. "Annabeth, what day is it today?" I yelled, running back into my cabin.

"It's June 22, the day after the Solstice, did the heat fry your brain that quickly?" she asked confused.

I gave her a long hard kiss and thanked every god I knew. "Nope, I just had a really long day yesterday."

Epilogue

Aphrodite walked into the large chamber, completely empty, save for three old women standing over a woven scarf.

"Hello ladies, I just came to say that you can untie the knot from Percy Jacksons string, and that the favor you owe me has been repaid. Thanks again." With that, she shut the door and began the walk back to her temple.


End file.
